Random Ramblings on RWBY fanfiction
by Jaliop
Summary: Somewhere to dump some of my oneshots and story concepts for RWBY. First up: A Parody/Criticism of Jaune betrayal fics.


I read a lot of fanfiction. Normally, I don't care much for terrible plot points, I just ignore them and enjoy whatever else has caught my interest in the story I'm reading. However, sometimes plot points are just so damn...ugh that I feel like I want to respond to the people who wrote it, to show them why it's so ridiculous. Not the idea itself necessarily, just the way it's written.

That's exactly what this story is. It's poking fun at the whole "All of Beacon hates Jaune when his transcripts are revealed and his friends "betray" him." The idea isn't bad itself, it just falls flat in it's execution most of the time.

**I wrote this while drunk months ago, in my defense, and I debated just deleting it. But I wrote it, so I'm going to submit it anyway. The sentiment remains, though: "betrayal" fics where literally everyone is an asshole except the MC and whatever love interest(s) there are are dumb.**

-Story start-

As far as Jaune was concerned, everything had been going great. He was learning to kill Grimm, he'd met some incredible people, was totally gonna bag a beautiful girlfriend as soon as Weiss gave in and he was well on his way to honoring his family line.

And then he'd been exposed.

Not exposed as in being naked in front of a crowd of his peers, if anything he'd have preferred that. Instead, he'd been exposed as a fake, a fraud, someone who was only here because of his fake transcripts. It wasn't Cardin who had exposed him, though, rather it was someone else who had overheard a different conversation he'd had with Pyrrha about it all. Probably not the smartest decision to have a conversation like that on the roof again, on reflection.

Naturally, the rest of Beacon didn't take that too well.

Now he was bullied. Now people insulted him wherever he went, closed doors on his fingers, shoved him into lockers, "lost" his things and all sorts of other terrible things. Some had even threatened him with physical harm or death if he didn't leave Beacon right away...

OK, not much of that actually happened.

Much of Beacon was ambivalent about him being a fake.

Sure, there were plenty of people who were really upset with him managing to sneak his way into Beacon Academy. After all, they'd worked their asses off, sacrificing much of their childhoods, to train to the point where they could make their way here on their own merits. And frankly, Jaune understood. He couldn't imagine how he'd feel if something he'd worked all his life at was attained by someone cheating their way to it. As it was, he definitely felt like a heel, considering he was the asshole who had done so.

Then again, there were people who admired him for it. Some because he was clever enough to find a way around the system, which if you really think about it was a talent all on it's own though probably not a good one for a hunter (but maybe he could be like Torchwick one day, just better dressed because who the fuck wears all white with orange hair?) Then there were the people who admired him because he had the balls to do it. What kind of courage, or stupidity, same thing if you think about it, does it take to lie your way into the most prestigious huntsman academy in the world? And not only lie your way into it, but also go through the whole initiation, having absolutely no clue what you were doing and still somehow be successful enough to be made team leader? That was talent, no two ways about it.

Finally, there were the last group, who just didn't care. These could be put into two categories, mostly. The first was the people who legitimately didn't care anything at all. Beacon, being a school of overpowered teenagers, had plenty of drama every single day. Racism, violence, a few cases of sexual assault that were usually swiftly dealt with...hell, just last year there was a murder-suicide of a couple who were having relationship problems. What was some dude faking his way in to all that? Then there were people who didn't care about drama at all. They obviously wouldn't give a rat's ass about a fake, simply going on about their lives as they ignored the situation.

The second camp were a little more complex. They were generally the pragmatists. These people didn't care because as far as they were concerned, Jaune had already proved he belonged here. Seriously, the kid had no training, not even an unlocked aura, and on his first day he stood up and tanked a blow from a Deathstalker. He even came up with a plan to defeat it. Most people peed their pants the first time they saw a small Beowulf in a controlled situation and that was after months or years of training. Skill with a weapon could be taught; the courage to stand against impossible odds was something innate. And, as the fourth years knew well, in short supply.

So yeah, Jaune's life was weird right now. He WAS an even easier target to bully than before, of course. Then again, unlike before, he actively had admirers who defended him from said bullies. He even had a few, dare he say it, fans. One was particularly cute, as well, and she'd promised him her virginity, seven children and a willingness to allow a mistress or two.

Fortunately, his grandfather had taught him well about dicks and crazies, so he hadn't fallen to that temptation.

Still, if there was one thing Jaune had to complain about most, it was the way he was being treated by the rest of JNPR and RWBY. They, perhaps, were the worst about it, with the abuse, physical and emotional reaching obscene levels on a regular basis. Why, just the other day, Ren had attempted to stab him in the throat and permanently "remove the stain on JNPR's honor..."

OK, so they were sparring, actually, and it was a valid tactic to try to take him down. And the whole honor thing had been Nora adlibbing their fight, complete with dramatic reveals, betrayals and even a "I am your father..." line.

Personally, Jaune suspected Ren hadn't learnt the golden rule about crazies. Maybe he should take him aside and explain, before he made a terrible mistake.

The beginning, back when he'd first been exposed, had been a little rough, though. Emotions had been running high, stupid things were said, a few punches might've been thrown and over all everyone was really upset. But then Ruby, bless her golden heart, had forced everyone into one room and made everyone talk it out.

Ruby had made it clear she wasn't upset at Jaune, actually, just at the circumstances of the moment. She was far too forgiving to hold such a thing against anyone, let alone one of her closest buddies, and Jaune was pretty sure she was a little too naive to understand quite what he had done. Still, she had given him a smile and demanded a hug, then forgiven him completely.

Weiss had been understandable, once she explained what she'd gone through to get there. Jaune had never known that she'd struggled so much under her family name, which made him feel pathetic about his own hang-ups with his. At least his family loved and cared for him. He couldn't imagine what it'd be like trying to juggle learning to be a huntress, a heiress of a major company AND trying to figure out how to save your family name from the damage caused by the current head, all with a cold uncaring father, a drunk mother, an older sister who ran away and an actively hostile younger brother. Plus all the threats to her life from the White Fang and the people who tried to get close to her only for her name. She thought that's why he had approached her, actually, and was surprised to learn he hadn't known anything of the Schnee, not even as the company that had the largest marketshare in dust. She went incredibly thoughtful when she heard he didn't even know who she was when he hit on her.

Once she'd finished, she was immediately swarmed with hugs by Ruby, Nora and Yang, the last of whom joined in for teasing purposes. The poor girl was too weak to fight them off and thus was subjected to cuddles and teary apologies.

...that was about when he realized just how incredibly ignorant of the world he was.

Blake was the most surprising of all. She had explained how terrible she felt because she not only saw herself in him, but also because he'd only done it for all the right reasons. His methods were flawed, yes, but his goals were not: he wanted to protect people and live up to his name as heroes. Learning that his family had all been great protectors of both human and faunus...well, it had made her realize how selfish she was, as she'd abandoned her family to run off to support a cause that, while seemingly noble at first, had quickly turned outright evil. And then she'd run away again, not to help others or to better the world, but because she wanted to self-servingly clear her conscience by becoming a hunter and proving faunus and humans could get along. Protecting was a distant goal, back then.

Oh, and she'd revealed her faunus heritage about this time. Jaune thought the cat ears were hot.

Her speech would've caused her to receive the same treatment as Weiss had, but her hisses and threats to scratch had kept even Nora away. It was adorable to watch, though.

Yang...who had known Yang would be so deep? She wasn't upset at Jaune for faking his way in, as she'd be hypocritical to do so considering her own mistakes and actions in the past. Instead, she was upset because of how much risk he had put everyone who relied on him in. After all, he couldn't fight even at the level of a Signal student, so what if his team was starting to be overwhelmed? He'd have been a dead-weight, something that could've caused his team to fall. Then there was her anger at him for putting himself at risk. What had he been thinking, going to initiation without an unlocked Aura, let alone no training? Why hadn't he asked for help with his training, when it became clear how far behind he was?

Still, Yang had forgiven him after punching him in the face. Then she'd given him a big hug. He was pretty sure he came out ahead on that one.

Pyrrha...Pyrrha was never in question. She'd never cared, really, just upset for similar reasons as Yang in how much risk he'd put himself in. She made sure to promise to train him hard and build him up to the point where he was truly deserving of being in Beacon, no matter how much effort it took. And she also promised to always be there for him, no matter what. She truly was too good a friend for someone like him. It was weird how much she blushed while saying it, though. The girl was ridiculously shy.

As for Ren, he was rather calm about the whole affair. Frankly, his reasons made sense: he performed adequately as a leader in combat situations and nothing he'd done had been any less crazy than what Nora pulled on a regular basis. The only reason he was upset was because Jaune hadn't trusted him enough to reveal the transcripts earlier. Jaune hadn't realized just how much trust Ren already put into him. It was a humbling feeling. Still, he had requested that next time, Jaune came to them and told them if he had such a secret instead of having it be revealed through rumor.

Nora. Oh, dear, sweet, insane Nora. Nora was the most upset of them all. She ranted, she raved, she complained, she threatened broken legs...even Ren promising pancakes could not break her of her rage (though it came close.)

But the reasons Nora was upset was the real kicker. She wasn't upset because he lied his way in. She wasn't upset because he put them at risk by not having the training to belong there. It wasn't even because he hadn't told them about it.

_No, she was only upset because she hadn't thought of the idea first._

Everyone had had a good laugh, cry and even a punch or two by that point. The tension was gone now that emotions were out in the open, and everyone had come to accept his presence there. There were some lingering complaints and negative feelings, of course, but those would fade with time as he came into his own and truly earned his place in Beacon as he swore to do. Perhaps, someday, people would even look to him as a role model, of what could be done with the right courage and the willingness to pursue your dreams.

Hey, he might even find a girlfriend, too! Maybe Pyrrha could help direct him to a good girl? He trusted her opinion, after all.

As Jaune contemplated suicide, not that he knew it, Nora chimed back in.

"Maybe if I murder all of you, I can reset the timeline..."

That statement finally broke the ice, as it were, as everyone burst out into belly-busting laughter. Leave it to Nora to say the most ridiculous things.

The fools.

Still, there was one last thing that bothered Jaune. Why hadn't Ozpin done something? He was still a fake, after all.

It bugged him so much that eventually, he went to go meet Ozpin and ask why he kept him here.

Ozpin had merely given him an odd look and said,

"You have a stupid amount of aura and nearly suicidal amounts of bravery. I'd be a fool to turn you away."

And really, when you considered that humanity was fighting a never-ending war against an enemy that didn't sleep, eat or die of old age, that made a lot of sense.

-End-

AN: There you have it. I have no defense. There's actually another side story with a similar concept I might finish and put up.


End file.
